Legal scholars from across the country visit campus for lecture series

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law saw several visiting professors this past fall as part of the 2010-11 Scholarly Program, and more are set to come.

Timothy Endicott, dean of the faculty of law at Oxford University; Jeffrey Fagan, professor of law and public health at Columbia University; and David Papke, professor of law at Marquette University Law School all recently gave lectures at the law school.

Endicott, Oxford’s law dean since 2007, is a fellow in law at Balliol College and has been a professor of legal philosophy since 2006. Endicott writes on jurisprudence and constitutional and administrative law, with special interests in law and language and interpretation. He is the author of “Vagueness in Law” and “Administrative Law.”

His lecture, “Judicial Control of the Executive: Beyond Guantanamo” explored the reach of courts using habeas authority to assess executive branch detentions of enemy combatants. The talk was based on his paper, "Habeas Corpus and Guantánamo Bay: A View from Abroad," which can be read here.

Fagan is director of the Center for Crime, Community and Law at Columbia Law School and a senior scholar at Yale Law School. His research and scholarship focuses on crime, law and social policy and most recently has examined the legitimacy of the criminal law, capital punishment, legal socialization of adolescents and juvenile crime and punishment.

Fagan’s lecture, “Legitimate and Accountable Policing,” explored the importance of police legitimacy and accountability for improving public safety. Based on national lessons learned, Fagan suggested specific strategies to strengthen police legitimacy, particularly in times of police department reform. In light of Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s recent request for assistance from the Department of Justice to reform the New Orleans Police Department, Fagan also discussed the potential impact of consent decrees as a tool to reform the police department.

Papke joined Marquette in 2002 after serving on the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis faculty for 18 years. Papke teaches property, family law, jurisprudence, legal history and a range of courses and seminars in law and the humanities. He has a special scholarly interest in the role of law in American culture. He is the author of “Framing the Criminal: Crime, Cultural Work and the Loss of Critical Perspective.”

Papke’s presentation, “The Relationship of Law and Legal Institutions to Urban Poor, a.k.a. ‘The Underclass,’” launched the Loyola-Marquette Faculty Workshop Exchange Program. Papke explores law’s role in the lives of the contemporary American underclass, including the legal processes, legal institutions and law-related beliefs.

On Jan. 27 at 12:30 p.m., professor Christine Hurt of the University of Illinois College of Law, will present “Microfinance in Malawi,” as part of the Working Paper Series.